Thor Mining Plc has commenced a drilling programme at the company's 100% owned Ragged Range Project, located in Eastern Pilbara, Western Australia.
Project highlights
- Approximately 3000 m reverse circulation (RC) drilling programme commences.
- Drilling is designed to test both structural and geochemical targets along the Sterling Prospect 13 km gold corridor, defined by robust soil and stream anomalies, following the first phase of drilling completed in December 2021.
- Drilling is targeting interpreted dilational zones associated with faulting and folding along the regional thrust faulted contact between the mafic and ultramafic units.
- Drilling programme also includes 1 – 3 drillholes at the Krona Prospect to test electromagnetic (EM) conductor recently identified beneath the nickel gossan.
- Concurrent to the drilling programme, regional geochemical sampling and mapping will continue over the Kelly's copper-gold area in the northeast of tenure (E46/1393).
Nicole Galloway Warland, Managing Director of Thor Mining, commented: “It's exciting to be commencing our second phase of RC drilling at the Sterling Prospect, Ragged Range, including drill testing the recently identified EM conductor beneath the nickel gossan, at the Krona Prospect.
“These are robust geochemical targets associated with key structural features defined by Thor, associated with the regional thrust faulted mafic -ultramafic contact within the Kelly Greenstone Belt.
“We look forward to updating the market as results come through.”
RC drilling programme
A follow up RC drilling programme at Sterling Prospect, Ragged Range has commenced.
This second phase of drilling is designed to test dilational zones (potential trap sites for mineralisation and the interpreted source of the gold anomalies found in stream and soil samples). Surface anomalism is associated with a series of faults and folds, subparallel or at a high angle to the regional thrust faulted contact (Norman Cairns Fault) between the Euro Basalt and the Dalton Suite ultramafics along the Sterling Prospect 13 km gold corridor.
Approximately 40 drillholes for 3000 m are designed to cover these key structures and gold anomalies, with drill holes generally angled -60° toward the west, near perpendicular to the structural controls of the dominant faulted contact between the Euro Basalt and the Dalton Suite ultramafics. Drill depths will range from approximately 60 – 120 m.
Two drill traverses (labelled 1 and 5) will test the major thrust contact, mapped by the GSWA as the Norman Cairns Fault. Traverses 3 and 4 are designed to cross a major anticlinal axis and intense partly recumbent shearing and faulting in the Euro Basalt, close to the contact.
Traverses 6 and 7 will test structural contacts of the Euro Basalt. These are distinctive zones with both quartz veining and iron oxide seen at surface. Traverse 2 will test a dilation zone located in ‘the kink’ where sinistral strike slip movement has led to multiple quartz veining, and surficial magnesite in a highly altered basalt unit. Traverses 8 and 9 target a significant fault splay that can been traced for many kilometres to the East. This fault is ironrich with anomalous arsenic (As) up to 1000 ppm. Stream sediment gold anomalies can be sourced to this area.
As part of the drilling programme, one to three drill holes are planned to drill test the FLEM conductor identified below the nickel gossan at Krona Prospect.
DJC Drilling Pty Ltd has been contracted to complete the RC drilling programme. The 3000 m programme is anticipated to take four weeks, with samples being freighted to Bureau Veritas laboratory in Adelaide, South Australia, for analysis.
Next steps
Concurrent with the drilling programme, mapping and geological sampling will be undertaken around the copper-gold Kelly/Ryan's prospect areas, focusing along strike of high-grade copper-gold historic workings.
Airborne magnetic/radiometric survey to be flown over the eastern portion of the tenure, including E46/1340 and E46/1393.